Ian Maule | Kalamazoo GazetteJocelyn and Gary Leonard, parents of the late Wes Leonard, stand with Fennville players Luis Ortiz, second from right, and Sam Schut during an emotional Hall of Fame induction ceremony Friday night at Fennville's Morehead Gymnasium.

FENNVILLE — Surrounded by reporters, with television cameras rolling and friends standing behind her as always, Jocelyn Leonard cradled the Fennville High School Athletic Hall of Fame plaque presented to her family as she stood outside Morehead Gymnasium.

She spoke with poise and some humor, but mostly with “deep sadness” and “deep pride” when reflecting upon the friendships, athletic exploits and far-reaching impact of her late son, Wes Leonard.

Wes, a 16-year-old junior standout who collapsed on the basketball court and later was pronounced dead at the hospital this past March 3, was inducted into the Blackhawks' Hall of Fame Friday night.

“We're approaching the one-year mark and I don't know if we're any better than we were 11 ½ months ago — I don't know,” said Jocelyn Leonard, before her and husband Gary's freshman son, Mitchell, and his Fennville varsity basketball team took on Bloomingdale. Mitchell scored 10 points, but his Blackhawks lost to the Cardinals, 68-50.

The emotional induction ceremony took place at mid-court, on the very same floor where Wes converted the game-winning lay-in against Bridgman. The clutch play preserved Fennville's first-ever 20-0 regular season and prompted a wild celebration in which teammates lifted Wes into the air.

On Friday, Wes' friends and the current Blackhawks basketball team emotionally lifted up the Leonards, joining them on the floor during the ceremony.

Ian Maule | Kalamazoo GazetteWes Leonard's banner was unveiled on the Morehead Gymnasium wall, behind the basket where he scored the game-winning shot against Bridgman to complete a 20-0 regular season last year.

A banner featuring Wes' No. 35 football jersey and No. 7 football jersey, and detailing his athletic achievements, was unveiled on the wall behind that very same basket where he cemented his hero legacy in the small town less than a year before. Fennville basketball coach Ryan Klinger and Wes' former football coach, Tim Schipper, performed the unveiling with red eyes.

During the ceremony, the packed-house crowd of nearly 1,600 — many people wearing “NEVER FORGOTTEN” T-shirts — twice gave standing ovations that lasted for several seconds. The audience grew quiet, out of respect, while the group of people at center court traded tearful hugs.

“It was hard — so many emotions,” said DeMarcus McGee, one of Wes' best friends and a 2011 Fennville alumnus who starred at power forward for the Blackhawks last season. McGee was wearing a T-shirt with the words "Wes Leonard Heart Team" on the front. “It was just a feeling, like right in your heart. You know he's there, watching you … but I miss him so much. Everybody misses him.”

In addition to the plaque presented to Wes' family, a second one will be hung in the school along with those of the other 25 Fennville Hall of Famers. Athletes must be out of school for a minimum of 10 years in order to be eligible for the Hall of Fame, but committee members elected to waive the rule because of the special circumstances.

Wes' gymnasium banner rests on the wall alongside those of other Fennville greats, Richie Jordan and Sam Morehead.

“We were just looking at pictures in the Hall of Fame (ceremony in the high school library) and we've got his eighth-grade picture hanging up in the Alumni Hall of Fame,” Jocelyn Leonard said. “I don't think he's changed much since eighth grade.

“He was so much taller and that's why they always called him 'The Man-child,'” she quipped. “He looked older than 13 — he was 13 in eighth grade.”

In football, Wes was named All-Southwestern Athletic Conference five times on offense and/or defense. During his prolific junior year, when he passed for 2,590 yards and accounted for 40 touchdowns in eight games, he was named Associated Press all-state honorable mention. He set Michigan High School Athletic Association records that season for TD passes in a game (seven) and half (six).

In basketball, Wes earned All-SAC honors three times and accumulated 1,146 points. He was named first-team all-state by the AP and Detroit Free Press.

“I've been around athletics in high school and college 15 years, whatever it is, and he had a goal in his mind that he was going to be great,” Klingler said. “It's really the first time I've seen that from a high school kid. He just was not going to be denied whether it was the football field, on the basketball court and whatever he would have done in college.”

Jocelyn Leonard said her son was “just driven and a quiet leader,” qualities that endeared him to everybody. His friends are like family, even more so now.

"It's been a constant. I want to be part of their lives forever," Jocelyn Leonard said. "I mean, these are his friends — these are great, great people. Some of them are freshmen in college, some of them are seniors, and I love 'em.

"I mean, look at 'em — it's like United Nations, right? I mean, you know. I mean, they are. And trust me, their mouths are just like United Nations, and I don't mean foreign languages, either. That's why it's so much fun. They're great friends. He loved coming to school every day, he loved his coaches. I mean, he was a lucky boy — and he knew it."

Fennville senior guard Xavier Grigg, one of those close family friends and a Blackhawk who wears his emotions on his sleeve, fashioned a T-shirt under his white game jersey. Through the back of his jersey, it read “Leonard” and “35.”

“Nights like this, they're good, I think, for our community,” Klingler said. “It helps everybody heal a little bit. It's a positive night, yet you're forced to deal with some emotions that maybe you don't have to deal with all the time.”